ANSI/IEEE Std 421.

1-1986
(Revision of IEEE Std 421-1972)

An American National Standard

IEEE Standard Denitions for Excitation

Systems for Synchronous Machines

Sponsor

Power Generation Committee

of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society
Approved June 13, 1985

IEEE Standards Board

Approved November 21, 1985

American National Standards Institute

Copyright 1986 by
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc 345 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, in an electronic retrieval system or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher.

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Foreword
(This Foreword is not a part of ANSI/IEEE Std 421.1-1986, IEEE Standard Denitions for Excitation Systems for Synchronous
Machines.)

This standard denes elements and commonly used components in excitation systems and contains denitions for
excitation systems applied to synchronous machines, for general requirements of a synchronous machine refer to
ANSI C50.10-1977.
A synchronous machine excitation control system operating under automatic control is a feedback control system.
Thus, the working group Terminology of the Excitation Subcommittee of the Power Generation Committee adopted
denitions that had common basis to excitation systems. Efforts were made not to conict terms found in ANSI/IEEE
Std 100-1984 , IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms, but to clarify or more fully dene terms
as related specically to excitation of synchronous machines.
The task of the working group can be divided into two areas:
1)
2)

To gather all the existing denitions applicable to the eld of excitation systems, and from these denitions
to extract those denitions of value.
To formulate new denitions where these are needed.

Three denitions to classify exciters are now established:

1)
2)
3)

dc generator commutator exciter

alternator rectier exciter
static rectier exciter

It is thought that these types of exciters cover most if not all of the types used in modern excitation systems for large
synchronous machines. The commutator exciter can have a continuous or noncontinuous acting regulator, and the
rectier exciter can have controlled or noncontrolled rectiers.
This standard would also like to draw particular attention to three other recent excitation system documents:
1)
2)
3)

ANSI/IEEE Std 421A-1978 1. This guide presents dynamic performance criteria, denitions and test
procedures for excitation control systems as applied by electric utilities.
ANSI/IEEE Std 421B-1979 1. This standard applies to high-potential testing of complete excitation systems
and their components for synchronous machines.
IEEE Committee Report, Excitation System Models for Power System Stability Studies. This paper presents
excitation system models suitable for use in large-scale system stability studies. With these models, most of
the excitation systems currently in widespread use on large, system-connected generators in North America
can be represented. This paper replaces a similar committee report dated 1968.

IEEE Std 421-1972 was a denitions standard that is referenced in many other IEEE standards, papers, committee
reports, etcetera. The changes being made in this revision do not invalidate any standard, paper, report, etcetera, that
used IEEE Std 421-1972 as a reference document.
Previous denitions which included a phrase response ratio have been deleted. Only a single denition, excitation
system nominal response, encompassing the overall performance of the excitation system is presented. Unique
conditions for various excitation systems as related to this performance parameter are identied.

1When the documents ANSI/IEEE Std 421A-1978

and ANSI/IEEE Std 421B-1979 are superseded by a revision, the revisions will be redesignated
as ANSI/IEEE Std 421.2 and ANSI/IEEE Std 421.3 , respectively.

iii

This revision has deleted a few basic terms, such as amplier, drift, error, and input signal. These terms are taken care
of in the IEEE Standard Dictionary. A few additional terms have been added. Table 1 of this revision shows a detailed
correlation between the various excitation systems and the appropriate computer model type as described in the IEEE
committee report on computer modeling of excitation systems.
Members of the Working Group of the Excitation Systems Subcommittee of the Power Generation Committee of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society, which formulated the 1972 standard, were as follows:
P. O. Bobo, Chair
R. R. Bast
M. L. Crenshaw
A. C. Dolbec
K. R. McClymont

F. W. Keay
F. R. Schleif
J. W. Skooglund
G. I. Stillman

Michael Temoshok
R. H. Waltman
H. S Wilson

Others contributing to the work of the group were:

J. R. Mather

P. R. Landrieu

A. S. Rubenstein

Members of the Working Group of the Excitation Systems Subcommittee of the Power Generation Committee of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society, which revised this standard, are:
J. R. Michalec, Chair
M. L. Crenshaw
K. J. Dhir
D. I. Gorden
H. Jaleeli
F. W. Keay

D. C. Lee
J. R. Mather
G. R. Meloy
D. H. Miller
J. O. Nichols

D. G. Ramey
J. W. Thomas
I. Trebincevic
R. H. Waltman
T. R. Whittemore

The following persons were on the balloting committee that approved this document for submission to the IEEE
Standards Board:
W. W. Avril
M. S. Baldwin
G. G. Boyle
F. L. Brennan
P. G. Brown
H. E. Church, Jr
R. S. Coleman
E. A. Cooper
R. E. Cotta
M. L. Crenshaw
P. M. Davidson
G. R. Engmann
W. M. Fenner
A. H. Ferber

iv

D. I. Gorden
R. D. Handel
M. E. Jackowski
P. R. Landrieu
G. Luri
O. S. Mazzoni
M. W. Migliaro
J. L. Mills
P. A. Nevins
S. Nikolakakos
J. T. Nikolas
M. I. Olken
R. J. Reiman

D. E. Roberts
W. J. Rom
M. N. Sprouse
A. J. Spurgin
J. E. Stoner, Jr
J. B. Sullivan
S. Tjepkema
R. H. Waltman
T. Whittemore
C. J. Wylie
T. D. Youkins
D. Diamant
G. Berman
A. H. Foss

When the IEEE Standards Board approved this standard on June 13, 1985, it had the following membership:
John E. May, Chair
John P. Riganati, Vice Chair
Sava I. Sherr, Secretary
James H. Beall
Fletcher J. Buckley
Rene Castenschiold
Edward Chelotti
Edward J. Cohen
Paul G. Cummings
Donald C. Fleckenstein
Jay Forster

Daniel L. Goldberg
Kenneth D. Hendrix
Irvin N. Howell
Jack Kinn
Joseph L. Koepfinger*
Irving Kolodny
R. F. Lawrence
Lawrence V. McCall

Donald T. Michael*
Frank L. Rose
Clifford O. Swanson
J. Richard Weger
W. B. Wilkens
Charles J. Wylie

*Member emeritus

CLAUSE

PAGE

1.

Scope ...................................................................................................................................................................1

2.

Excitation System Definitions ............................................................................................................................1

3.

References ...........................................................................................................................................................6

4.

Typical Elements and Components of Excitation Control Systems ...................................................................6

5.

Bibliography......................................................................................................................................................16

vi